UMD strengthens bond with Durfee

The relationship between Fall River schools and the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth has grown within the past year.

Michael Gagne Herald News Staff Reporter @HNMikeGagne

FALL RIVER — From high school and college students taking photos that document everyday life in Fall River, to choruses in each level performing a collaborative concert, high school freshmen taking part in college literary discussions, and college students visiting fifth-grade classrooms, the relationship between Fall River schools and the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth has grown within the past year.

That was the focal point of a presentation given at B.M.C Durfee High School, which was one of the stops of a bus tour through the SouthCoast taken by UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Divina Grossman along with 24 university deans, vice chancellors and department heads Tuesday.

That tour also stopped at several other locations in New Bedford, Dartmouth and Fall River. After Durfee, the tour stopped at the Marine Museum.

It was the second bus trip taken by the group. The first one took place last year, Grossman said.

“We wanted to have leadership see firsthand the impact of a partnership on students and faculty at Durfee and at UMass Dartmouth,” Grossman said.

She said the trip also precedes the launch of a new “strategic plan” for the university.

Exactly when that plan will be launched is yet to be determined, said John Hoey, spokesman for the university. “They’re putting the final touches on it right now,” Hoey said.

That plan, which seeks to align UMass Dartmouth’s academic strengths and mission with the needs of surrounding communities and the commonwealth, had been under development since it was announced in May 2013.

Tuesday’s audience at Durfee also included the high school’s faculty members and students.

One project tackled by both UMass and Durfee students is a photo documentary series called “Fall River Portraits.” It’s the result of a collaboration between the students of Durfee art teacher Mark Carvalho and UMass Dartmouth sociology professor Andrea Klimt.

A grant provided the cameras. Carvalho provided the expertise in helping students develop “a photographic eye,” while Klimt provided knowledge about urban spaces from which discussions could begin.

The result of that collaboration is captured in a photo exhibit called “Fall River Portraits,” which will be on display at the Narrows Center for the Arts from May 10 to 31.

The photos capture diverse subjects from local businesses to local culture: a baker taking sweet bread out of an oven; the owner of a local luggage repair shop at work; a young Cambodian boy at prayer; churchgoers leaving Mass; a mechanic, barbers and tattoo artists plying their trades.

The main aim, according to Klimpt, is to “bring students together a little bit more. We’re hoping it leads to interesting conversations on how to document urban spaces.”

Cities like Fall River are “incredibly complicated” and can “get overwhelmed by economic challenges,” Klimpt said.

Other speakers spoke of other ongoing collaborations between music students at UMass and Durfee, as well as between English faculty and students.

“What she’s trying to do is break down barriers,” said Durfee principal Paul Marshall of Grossman’s visit to Durfee. He noted that previous collaborations between UMass and Durfee have been productive.

Many of the signs now seen throughout the building at Durfee, Marshall explained, were the result of a collaboration between students in Durfee’s graphic arts department and UMass Dartmouth graduate students.